Plans to Plot, Plots to Plan and- Who might you be?

October 2014

Challenge:
Just one month left before NaNoWriMo! That means we don't have much longer to plan... I hope you're having fun with our OctoOctober prompts!
Let's go revisit some of the planning from earlier in January, but with a new spin...

NaNo Planning
What is the most important thing for you to have done before doing a NaNoWriMo novel? I need to be excited, have driving characters and a full plot outline, though "full" means from beginning to end, not in depth.
Do you have to have it fully planned to get that 1,667 every day, or do you have a title and a main character and go? Title, MC, Idea- go.

Bonus: Show us your NaNo planning - handwritten or computer screen!
     Not really planning on NaNo this year- no inspiration- but Here's a "Planning in Progress" pic anyway...

Cupcakes with Cows

So, mum's church is hosting a fundraiser. As per usual, she was recruited. Therefore, about two hours worth of work resulted in this: 

Cute, aren't they?

Now we have a small herd, all packaged and ready to be- well, sold and devoured. 

Still not quite sure how I ended up being involved, but- all I had to do was "color" inside the lines.

Faster than the Speed of a Snail... Barely.

September 2014

We've made it this far, ladies and gents! Only a little be longer to go. So, after our experience with the Three Day Novel, let's talk about speed...

Speed Writing
How fast do your first drafts go? Speed of the snail times 28 wpm divided by procrastination.
Do they take you a year?... If I could stay interested for a year, sure. 
A month? HA! In my wildest dreams. 
Is your speed more of a NaNoWriMo style writing or trying to nail down each word perfectly the first time? Nailing everything perfectly the first time, then starting the rewrite before finishing the first draft.
What suffers because of your speed? My motivation and Inspiration- and I'm usually interrupted by another more interesting story.

Bonus: What was your shortest novel? Your longest? And what was the main problem in each?
Not applicable...Not applicable ... Not Finishing??

Jayela Darkwalker- Neverwinter

A... Short Summer's Tale? Ehh??

August 2014

What is more fun in August than our short story challenge, Show Us Your Shorts? Let's talk about how short stories can impact a writer right over here...

Short Stories:
Do you write them? No, I do not.
Do you hate them? I'm not a big fan of Original Fiction short stories, but I've read a few really good Fan Fiction/Spin-off pieces.
Do you think they're lovely but there's no market for them? For those who wish to be published, many people will tell you that short story publications get your foot in the door. And while that is definitely true, I'm not sure how many people really focus on the short stories. So tell me about your own views on them. Have any been published? Are you looking to publish some? 
 Lol, no, there are people who love them to death- just not me. I don't really care whether I'm ever published or not- I write only because I want to and because I love the online writing community.

Bonus: What is your favorite magazine/anthology of short stories? Send us a 
picture of the cover! (Especially if you have a favorite issue.)
Because Boba Fett makes EVERYTHING more awesome! Even Short Stories.

Safety Parameters and Acceptable Limits

July 2014 

With horror writing abounding over in Zombie July, let's talk about our own writing limits.

Remember - keep reading and responding to your fellow WriYers! I want to see some connections happening 

Limits
What will you absolutely not write no matter what?
Horror. Ugh- I greatly dislike horror- refuse to watch it, hate reading it, can't get it out of my brain and am stuck with it in replay for far too long. Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde- brrrr. Thanks, English Lit class. Frankenstein wasn't anywhere near as bad. Though, in my odd little worldview, zombies do not necessarily count as horror... Even if the story tends to lead toward it. Um... not sure, besides the above mentioned? Swearing, except as part of a specific character. If they must needs swear, I'll make up my own- it's more authentic anyway.
And where do you put your foot down in your genre? Do you write fantasy but not darker than a medium shade of grey? Yes? But I see that as more of a lack of development as a writer than a limit? I am more limited by my current abilities to pull things off...


Bonus: For fun, what genre will you never ever ever write?
     Contemporary realistic/ slice of life fiction. Bleh- can't stand the stuff. It's like Vegemite- some people's bread and butter, but to me it tastes like poison.

Shall I describe it to you- or do you want me to find you a box?

Our purple month means we have to start talking about the most deadly weapon in the writer's arsenal - purple prose. Too much description can kill a man... So let's talk about our methods of sprinkling it!


Description
How much is too much for you? I'm actually not sure- I greatly enjoy Tolkein, but I can't stand the third and fourth Eragon installments. I guess- for me, it's instinctive, not planned.
How little is too little? Adjectives are brilliant. Adverbs are better. Some phrases make the chapter- use them. I often get frusterated because I have difficulty describing a scene the way I want to.
How do you find your happy medium? WHat is this "medium" you speak of?
What must you describe about every character when you write? ... Oddly enough, their eyes.
What's the worst way to use and/or reveal character descriptions? All at the same time for multiple characters. Ugh- I hate that. It gets so confusing!
How much of the scenery do you put into your novel and why? Um- not enough. I'm working on it. Fantasy novels- it's still in development. You know what that's like, right?